Computer Control With the Brain a Step Closer

BBC News reports that a team of New York researchers has made progress in the development of a brain-controlled computer. Four people, two of them partly paralyzed wheelchair users, successfully painted on a video screen while wearing a cap mounted with 64 electrodes.

“The results show that people can learn to use scalp-recorded electroencephalogram rhythms to control rapid and accurate movement of a cursor in two directions,” said Jonathan Wolpaw and Dennis McFarlane. With the use of this system, assistive technology devices for computers and limb control now have a wireless alternative. The four people faced a large video screen wearing a special cap which meant no surgery or implantation was needed.

The signals originate from the brain and travel to limbs. If any nerves are damaged, this technology does not focus on fixing the transportation channel but on the source of the message. A non-invasive brain control interface could support clinically useful operation of a robotic arm, a motorized wheelchair or a neuroprosthesis. People that have suffered a stroke or spinal cord injuries could use this technology effectively

The research team, from New York State Department of Health and State University of New York in Albany, said the research was another step towards people controlling wheelchairs or other electronic devices by thought alone. The four volunteers learned to control the brain devices better with more training and an editor of Axistive also tried an earlier model of brain input, the Cyberlink, and was amazed with the power of the technology.

Source: BBC News